New MBA grads looking at alternative careers

How the global financial crisis is changing the professional paths of the
MIT Sloan Class of 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 1, 2009 — As anyone from the MIT Sloan School of
Management Class of 2009 will tell you, looking for work this spring has
been no picnic. But now that most of them have landed jobs, they might also
admit that the global economic downturn had some unexpected benefits.

For some, the financial meltdown forced them some to consider different
industries, different locations, and even different career paths and turned
them on to new professional challenges. For others, the recession caused
them to reevaluate their priorities and determine what they wanted to do
with their lives — often trading jobs with status and hefty paychecks for
careers with a positive social impact.

“Students became more reflective of their job choices as the market shifted
and have made very thoughtful decisions,” says Jackie Wilbur, head of
Sloan's Career Development Office.

Wilbur estimates that 80-85 percent of the class will have an offer by
graduation. This represents a five percent decrease from last year at this
time, but is in line with the school's results during the last severe
downturn in 2002.

At a time when Wall Street is downsizing many soon-to-be Sloan graduates —
including Ilissa Schild — say the economic downturn broadened their horizons
beyond the finance industry.

“Just as employers are more selective, we can be more selective too.”

This summer, she will start a new job at First Act, a Boston-based company
that makes musical instruments from entry-level drums for kids, to custom
guitars for expert players. Schild, who grew up in a musical family and has
played guitar since she was 12 years old, will look at new technologies for
their line of interactive musical toys.

“This is an opportunity to be creative, to innovate, and to apply technology
in new ways,” she says.

Other students, like Daniel Hsu, say that the downturn made it easier to put
aside financial considerations and focus on social issues. Hsu recently took
a job at a Chinese start-up that makes products for customers in the
developing world without electricity.

“The downturn made it very easy to remember my original priorities and stay
on a more direct path towards a personally fulfilling career.”

The recession enabled other students to consider jobs in far-flung
locations. David Hsu, who will soon graduate from MIT with a Masters in
Engineering and an MBA, signed on at Lufthansa, the German airline. He will
spend the next year-and-a-half rotating through the company's operations and
finance divisions.

Hsu, who is originally from New Hampshire and does not yet speak German,
says that while he hadn't planned on moving overseas after graduation, “it's
really exciting to go international, to live and work in a completely
different culture, and learning a new language.”

He says that the economic crisis gives new MBAs a singular opportunity to
prove themselves in their jobs because companies are more willing to explore
different solutions. “When things are going well, companies are reluctant to
do anything differently for fear of messing it up. But now with all these
challenges in the marketplace, companies are struggling, and they're more
open to change,” he says. “Now is the time to make an impact.”